ODD FELLOW CHRISTMAS ANTICS
KD Cat plays with her gift, which was a Walgreen's CAT'S MEOW *
That is, we found it at the entry counter leaving the store on a Christmas-shopping day.
We bought it for our cat.
What happens: A mouse-tail-ish wire circles the oil-cloth yellow fabric disc. It goes one way, stops at random,
reverses direction (maybe, maybe NOT - may keep on going left or right!),
the cat's eyes grow large as she leaps one way, then another........
Powered by three C batteries. So far they have not burned out.
We do turn it off regulary, and have more batteries ready.
The best gift we've ever given a cat, by far.
(See footnote)
On the same rug, New Yorker son Lee and Ben from Appleton/Rochester, WI
play Lee's gift to Erin and Ben:
a super-great board game titled
TICKET TO RIDE.
Again at the Odd Fellows,
visited for Christmas by son Leland
and daughter Erin, brother plays sister
in a re-enactment of historic competition.
Lee, from New York City;
Erin from Appleton, WI.
Erin brings favored Waukesha South (now a) night-shirt.
It is wearing well.
Behind her is an earlier picture of mother Denise.
Two beauties in their own rights.
Erin's face obscured by candle. Picture taken through the kitchen pass-thru.
Table laden with good food by Denise.
END OF CHRISTMAS GLIMPSE......
.......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFbWkL818XQ
HOW EFFORTLESS-SEEMING THE LITTLE BOY AND HIS BIGGER BROTHER PLAY
AND NO 'AINT I GREAT?' EXPRESSION ON THEIR FACES
JUST A BIG QUICK SMILE AT THE FINISH, A BROTHER ACT SUPREME.
For another tune, go here:
http://raccoonnews.blogspot.com/2013/08/jockey-belly-dancer-american-cheese.html
.......
From Sunday's Writers Almanac 12-22-13
.......
And another one:
HOW EFFORTLESS-SEEMING THE LITTLE BOY AND HIS BIGGER BROTHER PLAY
AND NO 'AINT I GREAT?' EXPRESSION ON THEIR FACES
JUST A BIG QUICK SMILE AT THE FINISH, A BROTHER ACT SUPREME.
For another tune, go here:
http://raccoonnews.blogspot.com/2013/08/jockey-belly-dancer-american-cheese.html
.......
From Sunday's Writers Almanac 12-22-13
The Video
When Laura was born, Ceri watched.
They all gathered around Mum's bed —
Dad and the midwife and Mum's sister
and Ceri. "Move over a bit," Dad said —
he was trying to focus the camcorder
on Mum's legs and the baby's head.
After she had a little sister,
and Mum had gone back to being thin,
and was twice as busy, Ceri played
the video again and again.
She watched Laura come out, and then,
in reverse, she made her go back in.
They all gathered around Mum's bed —
Dad and the midwife and Mum's sister
and Ceri. "Move over a bit," Dad said —
he was trying to focus the camcorder
on Mum's legs and the baby's head.
After she had a little sister,
and Mum had gone back to being thin,
and was twice as busy, Ceri played
the video again and again.
She watched Laura come out, and then,
in reverse, she made her go back in.
.......
And another one:
Christmas Sparrow
The first thing I heard this morning
was a rapid flapping sound, soft, insistent—
wings against glass as it turned out
downstairs when I saw the small bird
rioting in the frame of a high window,
trying to hurl itself through
the enigma of glass into the spacious light.
Then a noise in the throat of the cat
who was hunkered on the rug
told me how the bird had gotten inside,
carried in the cold night
through the flap of a basement door,
and later released from the soft grip of teeth.
On a chair, I trapped its pulsations
in a shirt and got it to the door,
so weightless it seemed
to have vanished into the nest of cloth.
But outside, when I uncupped my hands,
it burst into its element,
dipping over the dormant garden
in a spasm of wingbeats
then disappeared over a row of tall hemlocks.
For the rest of the day,
I could feel its wild thrumming
against my palms as I wondered about
the hours it must have spent
pent in the shadows of that room,
hidden in the spiky branches
of our decorated tree, breathing there
among the metallic angels, ceramic apples, stars of yarn,
its eyes open, like mine as I lie in bed tonight
picturing this rare, lucky sparrow
tucked into a holly bush now,
a light snow tumbling through the windless dark.
.......
* Footnote
It came to our attention
after we had bought THE CAT'S MEOW
that the Christmas cat toy has been
advertised relentlessly on TV.
But we don't own a TV
haven't for 4 years
so we were immune/unknowing of the cleverness
of this device beforehand.
Our first sight of it was at
Walgreen's circa 12-10-13.
Never saw a TV ad for it.
We knew at first blush this was a good thing without TV.
But The Raccoon feels an apology of sorts
is due those readers who perhaps
have seen on TV the Cat's Meow
ad infinitum, maybe ad nauseum.
It's still a darn good thing!
OR, as Roseann Rosannadanna used to say (ON TV):
NEVER MIND!
(A section of the box label)
was a rapid flapping sound, soft, insistent—
wings against glass as it turned out
downstairs when I saw the small bird
rioting in the frame of a high window,
trying to hurl itself through
the enigma of glass into the spacious light.
Then a noise in the throat of the cat
who was hunkered on the rug
told me how the bird had gotten inside,
carried in the cold night
through the flap of a basement door,
and later released from the soft grip of teeth.
On a chair, I trapped its pulsations
in a shirt and got it to the door,
so weightless it seemed
to have vanished into the nest of cloth.
But outside, when I uncupped my hands,
it burst into its element,
dipping over the dormant garden
in a spasm of wingbeats
then disappeared over a row of tall hemlocks.
For the rest of the day,
I could feel its wild thrumming
against my palms as I wondered about
the hours it must have spent
pent in the shadows of that room,
hidden in the spiky branches
of our decorated tree, breathing there
among the metallic angels, ceramic apples, stars of yarn,
its eyes open, like mine as I lie in bed tonight
picturing this rare, lucky sparrow
tucked into a holly bush now,
a light snow tumbling through the windless dark.
.......
* Footnote
It came to our attention
after we had bought THE CAT'S MEOW
that the Christmas cat toy has been
advertised relentlessly on TV.
But we don't own a TV
haven't for 4 years
so we were immune/unknowing of the cleverness
of this device beforehand.
Our first sight of it was at
Walgreen's circa 12-10-13.
Never saw a TV ad for it.
We knew at first blush this was a good thing without TV.
But The Raccoon feels an apology of sorts
is due those readers who perhaps
have seen on TV the Cat's Meow
ad infinitum, maybe ad nauseum.
It's still a darn good thing!
OR, as Roseann Rosannadanna used to say (ON TV):
NEVER MIND!
(A section of the box label)
